Shelley Wachsmann

Shelley Wachsmann is a nautical archaeologist who focuses on seafaring and maritime trade in the ancient Mediterranean. From 1976 to 1989 he served as the Inspector of Underwater Antiquities for the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (now the Israel Antiquities Authority). In that capacity, in 1986 he directed the excavation of the Sea of Galilee Boat, a 2,000-year-old boat found in the Sea of Galilee. In 1990 he joined Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) Nautical Archaeology Program while carrying out field research almost annually under the aegis of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA). Most recently, in 2002 he conducted a paleo-environmental study of three possible Phoenician anchorages in Portugal. In 2003-2006, he directed the Canadian team of a joint Canadian-Greek expedition in search of fleets lost during the Persian War in the early 5th century B.C. (http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pwss/homepage).  In 2007-2009 he led the Danaos Project, a deep-water survey studying the Crete-to-Egypt trade route in antiquity (http://ina.tamu.edu/danaos/index.html). Shelley has been an Institute for Exploration (IFE) Adjunct Researcher since 2008. He currently serves as the Coordinator of TAMU’s Nautical Archaeology Program. In 2010 he was promoted to full professor.